Where Did the Saying “The Moon is Made Of Green Cheese” Come From?

Many of us were probably told as children about the cow jumping over the moon some of us were probably told the moon was made of green cheese. Some of us, myself included, believed it; not having any evidence to prove that our parents were making up such a fantastic tale. Made up or not, it opened up our imagination to the possibilities of going to the moon and taking a bite.

The idea that the moon is a dairy product has been around for over a 1000 years and mentioned in various fables and proverbs. One of the most notable first uses of this term comes from The Proverbs of John Heywood in 1546:

“The moon is made of green cheese” thus referring to the age of the cheese not its color.

Along with this proverb about the Moon there is a fable just as old that describes a simpleton who sees a reflection of the moon and thinks that it’s cheese. As time went on, the notion that the Moon is made of cheese became synonymous with a persons gullibility.

Through time, the story of the Moon has been passed on for a whole new generation of kids to look up to the heavens and wonder to themselves about its composition.

In 2002, NASA got in on the fun on April Fool’s day; stating that the moon was, in fact, made of cheese. I wonder how many people actually bought it.